Biography

I have been a professor at Bemidji State University since 1991. In addition to my life as a professor, I have been, and continue to be, very active in a variety of community organizations including arts, business, and downtown development organizations. I currently serve on the Bemidji Area Cross Country Ski Club Board.

Degrees

• Ph.D. in Political Science 1991. University of Iowa. Dissertation: Politics and Professionals: The Demand for Participation in the Intergovernmental Lobby
• B.A. in International Relations and Philosophy with minor in Economics, Saint Cloud State University 1986
• Kansai Gaidai University. Osaka, Japan, 1984.
• British Studies Program. Alnwick, England, 1982.

Recent Work

• "Primary Elections and Polarization in Congress: Has the Role of the Nominating Primary Changed in Ways that Increase the Polarization in Congress?" Presented at the 2012 annual meeting of the Minnesota Political Science Association.
• "The History and Performance of Minnesota's Publicly Funded Legislative Elections." in Perspective on Minnesota Government and Politics, 5^th edition. Edited by Steven Hoffman, Homer Williamson and Kay Wolsborn.
• "The Impact of Minnesota's Contribution Refund Program on Small Donor Behavior in State House Races." State and Local Government Review Volume 33, Number 1. Graham Ramsden, co-author.
• "The Public Financing of Legislative Elections: Lessons from Minnesota." Legislative Studies Quarterly. August 1995. Graham Ramsden, co-author.
• "Public Financing: Lessons from Minnesota." Occasional Paper 4, in a series entitled, Trends in Political Financing and Campaign Reform, published by the Citizen's Research Foundation, University of Southern California. May 1996. Graham Ramsden, co-author.
• "The History and Performance of Minnesota's Publicly Funded Legislative Elections." in Perspective on Minnesota Government and Politics, 4^th edition. Don Ostrom, editor. Graham Ramsden, co-author.
• "The Impact of Minnesota's Contribution Refund Program on State Legislative Races." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, April 23-25, 1998, Chicago. Graham Ramsden, co-author.
• "Political Parties and Competitiveness in the 1994 and 1996 House Elections." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, August 27-31, 1997, Washington, D.C. Graham Ramsden.
• "Party Money in Congressional Elections: Enhancing Electoral Competitiveness." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, April 10-12, 1997, Chicago. Graham Ramsden, co-author.
• "Party Money and Public Money in Minnesota Campaigns: Making Elections Competitive." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southwest Political Science Association, March 20-23, 1996, Houston, Texas. Graham Ramsden, co-author.
• "The Public Financing of Legislative Elections: Lessons from Minnesota." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Western Political Science Association, March 10-12, 1994, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Graham Ramsden, co-author

Open Field

Hobbies and Interests

Cycling, travel and cross country skiing